Congressional Budget Office: Should congress listen to them?

rudder

Lifer
Nov 9, 2000
19,441
85
91
http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11659

A warning was issued about the unabated growth of the national debt. (please no B.b.b.b. but Bush). The scary thing is that the CBO cannot predict at exactly what point the problem will go from warning to mega crisis.

The report did include some statements we can all agree on ;).... "…If the payment of interest on the extra debt was financed by imposing higher marginal tax rates, those rates would discourage work and saving and further reduce output."

So in short... Cut the spending!

[tinfoil hat]I think obama is DOS attacking the CBO.gov website because I cannot get to the link anymore.[/tinfoil hat]

This site has the summary:
http://conservativedailynews.com/2010/07/are-we-on-the-verge-of-an-economic-collapse/

NSFW!!! link though. Well only if you work at a main stream news outlet or as a college professor.
 
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PokerGuy

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
13,650
201
101
I know the but but booooosh idiots will be here soon enough, but the massive unabated spending of more and more borrowed money can not continue. It has to come to an end, one way or the other. Now the liberals have tasted free money (tarp, stimulus), they are addicted and want even more 'free money' to waste.
 

Red Dawn

Elite Member
Jun 4, 2001
57,530
3
0
I know the but but booooosh idiots will be here soon enough, but the massive unabated spending of more and more borrowed money can not continue. It has to come to an end, one way or the other. Now the liberals have tasted free money (tarp, stimulus), they are addicted and want even more 'free money' to waste.
And the Republicans are different how? It seems there's not a dimes bit of difference between the two parties as they are ruled by the same people.
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
The only way to get the budget back is to slash taxes and keep spending where it is. This way the slash in taxes will spur business growth and jump the economy so damn high that at the same small percentage tax rate the total revenues will be enough to cover all the huge deficit, that is the answer!!!1!1!
 

rudder

Lifer
Nov 9, 2000
19,441
85
91
Neither party will cut spending.

Your right. That is why the U.S. Air Force has way more C-17 cargo planes than they want or even needed... and they are still getting them. No one will cut the spending and put those people making the c-17 out of work.

my concern is the growth of the federal workforce. It ballooned under bush and there seems to be no slowdown under obama. These are all people whose salaries and pensions rely on the taxpayer.
 

Lemon law

Lifer
Nov 6, 2005
20,984
3
0
The only way to get the budget back is to slash taxes and keep spending where it is. This way the slash in taxes will spur business growth and jump the economy so damn high that at the same small percentage tax rate the total revenues will be enough to cover all the huge deficit, that is the answer!!!1!1!
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Not so simple, first of all cutting the taxes of corporations will do nothing, they pay no taxes already. Given all the corporate tax dodges, they structure themselves to pay no taxes.

The real danger is killing the buying power of the consumer, who buy the output of businesses. It why we stimulate the economy when times are bad, but sadly the sins of both of our political parties are simply that we don't follow up when times are good by cutting the government stimulus and applying the savings to reducing the debt. And GWB&co were sinners #1 in that regard, they mis-directed he stimulus at mainly the rich, reduced the buying power of the middle class, and piled on the debt.

And if the USA now fails to stimulate the economy, no one can buy the output of business, and, the only thing business can do is lay off workers, which further reduces the buying power, as unemployment skyrockets to 25% and beyond.
 

Craig234

Lifer
May 1, 2006
38,548
348
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Yes, we need to get the deficit under control and cut.

However, the mistakes made in the past (warned about by better people in both parties for decades) can need some short-term large spending against crisis while that's done.

But who was the group who would really reign in abuses like Wall Street's (and who did reign many of them in for several decades since FDR), and who was the group who blocked them?

Ultimately it's really simple. The progressives want a strong middle class with wealth, and the right views all that middle class money as a piggy bank for the rich to take.

Oligarchy with elites and serfs, or egalitarianism with more modest concentration of wealth, take your pick, and support the right group depending.
 

PokerGuy

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
13,650
201
101
Ultimately it's really simple. The progressives want a strong middle class with wealth, and the right views all that middle class money as a piggy bank for the rich to take.

Yeah right. Progressives (socialists) just want a giant government overlord to rule everything, with the people just there as serfs to serve the government. The middle class is an impediment to that goal, so they've done everything in their power to crush it and replace it with a government-handout-dependent welfare class.
 

Red Dawn

Elite Member
Jun 4, 2001
57,530
3
0
Yeah right. Progressives (socialists) just want a giant government overlord to rule everything, with the people just there as serfs to serve the government. The middle class is an impediment to that goal, so they've done everything in their power to crush it and replace it with a government-handout-dependent welfare class.
Both Parties have.
 

Craig234

Lifer
May 1, 2006
38,548
348
126
Yeah right. Progressives (socialists) just want a giant government overlord to rule everything, with the people just there as serfs to serve the government. The middle class is an impediment to that goal, so they've done everything in their power to crush it and replace it with a government-handout-dependent welfare class.

Pretty close to the opposite of the case, which explains your cluelessness as it's based on lies that are strawmen. Your ideology blinds you to the actual dangers of corporatism.
 

MotF Bane

No Lifer
Dec 22, 2006
60,865
10
0
Pretty close to the opposite of the case, which explains your cluelessness as it's based on lies that are strawmen. Your ideology blinds you to the actual dangers of corporatism.

He's much closer to correct than you are. You certainly are in no place to talk about ideology blinding someone.
 

Jaskalas

Lifer
Jun 23, 2004
33,382
7,446
136
I know the but but booooosh idiots will be here soon enough, but the massive unabated spending of more and more borrowed money can not continue. It has to come to an end, one way or the other. Now the liberals have tasted free money (tarp, stimulus), they are addicted and want even more 'free money' to waste.

Government run economies need government money. The spending will not end.
 

BoberFett

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
37,563
9
81
What's even worse is when we decide to actually fix our economic problems and stop the trade imbalance with poverty stricken nations, the resulting sharp rise in the CPI will cause an equally sharp drop in demand resulting in higher unemployment and increased cost of living meaning government will have to spend EVEN MORE!

We are well and truly fucked.
 

piasabird

Lifer
Feb 6, 2002
17,168
60
91
You might just want to see how many of their estimates were even in the ball park. How many times have their estimates been less than half of what projects actually estimated?
Estimate X2 X3 X4? ... X10? ....X100?
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,085
5,618
126
Yeah right. Progressives (socialists) just want a giant government overlord to rule everything, with the people just there as serfs to serve the government. The middle class is an impediment to that goal, so they've done everything in their power to crush it and replace it with a government-handout-dependent welfare class.

Fail